Boodle employment chief joins Bird & Bird

Bird & Bird has shored up its employment team by poaching Boodle Hatfield’s head of employment Warren Wayne.

The recruitment of Wayne is the latest sign that the technology-focused firm is continuing to recruit, despite the loss of a number of partners in recent months.

The firm has been undergoing an analysis of partner performance over the past year, as profits have been hit by the firm’s overseas expansion.

Of the recent departures, the firm is mourning the loss of tax partner Richard Ward, a senior figure within the firm who moved to Debevoise & Plimpton last month.

In August, Bird & Bird was hit by the departure of an employment team led by partners Corinne Day and Helen Parker, who left to set up their own niche firm.

Day and Parker had a strong reputation for representing individuals and teams, but the firm hopes that Wayne’s practice, which focuses more on corporate clients, will complement the firm’s other practice areas.